Gaming Commission may seek commercial casino bids in SE Mass.

Recognizing that several steps still stand between the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and a tribal casino in Taunton, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is now considering whether to start soliciting bids for a commercial casino in southeastern Massachusetts.

Recognizing that several steps still stand between the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and a tribal casino in Taunton, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is now considering whether to start soliciting bids for a commercial casino in southeastern Massachusetts.

Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby, reached by phone after Tuesday’s commission meeting, said such an approach would allow the state to follow “parallel tracks” so that it would be prepared in case the Mashpee fail to get the necessary federal approval to open a casino under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

“The problem we’re trying to balance is the tribe’s legitimate and important right to play out its hand with the interests of the people of southeastern Massachusetts to get benefits of the expanded gaming law in a reasonable amount of time.”

The gaming law, Crosby said, was intended to create jobs, economic development and revenue.

By starting to look at commercial application while the tribal process is still playing out, the state could conduct lengthy preliminary steps in the commercial application process, such as conducting background checks, while the tribe is waiting for a determination from the federal government.

“It’s just as a cushion against the possibility that the tribal option doesn’t work out,” Crosby said.

The Gaming Commission held considerable discussions, but didn’t make a final decision Tuesday on whether to solicit commercial bids for a casino in southeastern Massachusetts. The topic could be addressed again at a meeting next Tuesday.

The Massachusetts Expanded Gaming Act, which was signed into law last year, allows for up to one casino in each of three regions of Massachusetts, but the commonwealth won’t award a license for a commercial casino in the southeastern region unless the Gaming Commission determines the Mashpee are unlikely to clear all the hurdles to open a tribal casino under federal law.

“It’s pretty clear to us from the law that the Legislature’s intent here was to give the tribe a legitimate shot, a sort of right of first refusal, to get a license,” Crosby said. “But it was not the intent of the law to cause southeastern Massachusetts to fall way behind all the other regions.”

The Mashpee were dealt a potential setback in October when the federal Department of the Interior rejected the compact the tribe reached with the commonwealth. The state and tribe are currently negotiating a new compact.

The tribe is also waiting for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to rule on its proposal to have land in Taunton taken in trust, a necessary component in a tribal casino deal.

Actions in the courtroom cast additional uncertainty over the tribe’s plans. The Carcieri and Patchak decision in the Supreme Court have prompted some to question whether the Mashpee will qualify to have land taken in trust for a casino.

Page 2 of 2 - A federal lawsuit filed by KG Urban further clouds the tribal casino picture. KG Urban, which wants to build a casino in New Bedford, is challenging the constitutionality of the section of the state law that gives the tribe the first shot at the southeastern Massachusetts casino market.

Gaming Commission James McHugh presented a report on the status of the region.

“His point was there are enough variables here that we didn’t anticipate,” Crosby said. “We thought we’d be waiting for land in trust. We didn’t realize there’d be all these other issues.”

In a Dec. 3 letter to the Gaming Commission, Mashpee Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said the tribe is making progress toward its goal of opening a tribal casino.

“As you know, the Tribe believes that our right to game on trust land under federal law is inevitable,” Cromwell states in the letter. “Nevertheless, in partnership with Governor Patrick, we are continuing to work towards a revised compact which will both satisfy any concerns expressed by the Department of the Interior to date and under which the Tribe will provide the Commonwealth with a mutually acceptable and appropriate revenue share of our gaming enterprise in exchange for certain exclusivity concessions as permitted by federal law.”